A glimpse of Nigeria's thriving home grown movie industry, Nollywood

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Cameramen shoot a scene for ‘Two Brides and a Baby’ in Lagos. Budgets are small, so production values are low. But advances in digital photography mean that good-quality footage can be had fairly inexpensively: Videographer Abdullahi Dop (l.) is using a Canon 7D, a professional still camera set on video mode, to record the scene. Joseph Penney

Actress Keira Hewatch brushes her hair before playing a scene in ‘Two Brides.’ Joseph Penney

The makeup artist for ‘Two Brides and a Baby,’ a Nigerian film directed by Teco
Benson, works on actor Kalu Ikeagwu on a set in Lagos. Hot indoor sets mean that makeup often must be reapplied between every take. Joseph Penney

A makeup artist puts the final touches on actors Blessing Egbe (left) and Kalu Ikeagwu (r) before shooting a scene for Two Brides and a Baby. Ms. Egbe co-directed and produced the film as well as acted in the female lead. The scene of a domestic dispute is shot in her own home just ouside Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. Joseph Penney

A scene from the film is shot in a newly constructed gated community on the outskirts of Lagos. Nollywood movies often are set in affluent neighborhoods with flat-screen
TVs, maids, and SUVs, reflecting the rising aspirations of the mostly working-class audiences for the films. Nigeria’s middle and upper classes are expanding. Joseph Penney

A Nollywood film vendor awaits customers at a video store in Lagos Joseph Penney

Most Nollywood films are distributed direct-to-disc or televised. Video piracy is a big problem: Discs like these at a video store in Lagos sell for $3. But the VCDs (an early DVD format still widely used in developing countries) are easily duplicated and sell for pennies on the black market. Joseph Penney

Posters for Nollywood movies in Yoruba, one of Nigeria's main indigenous languages, hang over the crowded Mushin market in Lagos Joseph Penney

Vendors chat in front of an official Nollywood market in the Surulere district of Lagos. Joseph Penney

The Silverbird Cinema is seen in Lagos. The Silverbird was Nigeria's first modern multi-screen cinema and shows Nollywood films alongside Hollywood productions. The theater is housed in a larger, American-style mall, replete with a food court, electronic stores, clothing boutiques, and massive advertisements. Joseph Penney

Friends watch a wrestling scene in a Nollywood movie at a home in the Shomolu district of Lagos. Nollywood films are very popular across English-speaking Africa. Joseph Penney

Prime Minister Matteo Renzii announced he would quit following Sunday's referendum vote, in which 60 percent of Italy's voters rejected his proposals and signaled they wanted a change in political direction.